Indigo alchemy

I finally gave myself a day away from decorating and had a great time.

I’ve discovered natural dyeing!

About a year ago I treated myself to a kit and this week decided it was about time to try it out. I ended up being engrossed for the best part of a day.

I’m no chemist so followed the instructions carefully, not wishing to cause damage or injury with the potion. It was certainly a smelly experience. I raided my stash and found 200g of undyed 4ply yarn and some natural cotton fabric to experiment on.

After an hour of cooking the concoction it was time to take the plunge. I tied the fabric with linen yarn and wound off a bit of that to add to the pot. The wool yarn and fabric went in first, then the linen and for good measure at the end and because the dye didn’t seem to be all spent, I put in some wool tops.

What a success! The yarn is a lovely rich indigo denim colour. The fabric tie-dyed well and came out a soft blue. The linen yarn is also a lovely soft blue. The wool tops are a patchy blue and a bit felted but that’s probably due to my haste in the rinsing process. It was great watching the dye oxidise and change from green to blue as it came out of the water and became exposed to the air.

Next I’m going to try woad but first need to stock up on more yarn. Oh, and think about what to use the results for as usual!